Extreme Weather Facts

THE DANGER OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change is triggering more extreme weather, which leaves behind a trail of death and destruction and costs billions in health care. This is our weather on steroids.

Citizens across a range of America are sounding the alarms—backed by science: NASA, the US National Academy of Sciences, the NOAA, doctors, nurses, public health officials, the insurance industry, the US military, mayors of major cities and the President of the United States. We need a serious, large scale plan of attack…fast. Droughts, superstorms, wildfires, floods and deluges harm all of us. But our children and the elderly are always the most vulnerable.

WHY IS OUR CLIMATE CHANGING?

The Earth is heating up because gases produced from human activities—including carbon, soot and methane from burning coal, oil, and gas for fuel—are building up in the atmosphere, trapping the sun’s heat. This pollution acts like a thick blanket over our planet. We are throwing off the natural balance of our atmosphere, and raising the planet’s average temperatures. This is the “greenhouse effect.” Of course there were catastrophic climate events in the past. But they weren’t caused by human activity.

Greenhouse gases make our planet hotter and wetter; they load the dice for megastorms, severe heat waves, fierce wildfires, and wild hurricanes and tornados. We are measuring more CO2 in our atmosphere, created by human activity.

One reason we will feel the effects of climate change quickly is changes in the Arctic sea ice. These changes have an effect on the circulation of air in the atmosphere and of water in the oceans. When Arctic sea ice melts, the ocean is transformed into a dark mass that will absorb more heat, and the surrounding region becomes much warmer.

Unfortunately, we’ve already witnessed how climate change has increased the likelihood of extreme heatwaves and flooding.

The atmosphere and ocean are linked, and any changes will affect the entire cycle. For example, the recent wet and cold summer weather in Europe has been linked to changes in the high level jet stream winds, which in turn has been linked to melting Arctic ice–which shrank to its lowest recorded level in September 2012.

Waiting to see how bad the climate gets is incredibly risky. It’s like waiting to see how bad a disease gets before you start treating it. Chances of disaster intensify, and the cost of treatment sky rockets.

If you are in a car and you know you are speeding towards a cliff—but you just don’t know exactly where it is in the road ahead—wouldn’t you put your foot on the brakes? We must put a brake on our emissions, while there is room and time to stop safely.

A report from the environmental research organisation World Watch Institute found that the United States alone accounted for more than two-thirds of the $170 billion in losses caused by natural disasters around the world in 2012.

It is much less expensive—and much safer—to take steps in advance of catastrophe. We must address climate change now.

HOW DOES CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECT OUR HEALTH?

Hot days and air pollution mean ripe conditions for ground-level ozone, or smog, which forms when pollutants from cars, trucks and smokestacks mix with sunshine. Ozone is a powerful oxidant that can irritate the airways, causing a burning sensation, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Ozone has been linked to a host of maladies, including premature mortality, heart failure, increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits for respiratory causes among children and adults with asthma and inflammation of the lungs.

HERE ARE THE THREE BIG WEATHER EVENTS THAT AFFECT OUR HEALTH:

Heat and mega–heat waves. These cause air-pollution problems related to higher temperatures, like ozone levels. Heat waves cause massively high air conditioning use, which only sends up more greenhouse gases and makes the problem worse.

Heavy rainfall. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, and causes more heavy rainfalls and storm surges. We’re also seeing an increase in insect born diseases carried by the bugs that thrive in moist conditions.

Drought. In areas of the Great Lakes, water levels are 25 inches lower than normal due to a lack of winter ice cover and the dry summer. Precipitation in the Rio Grande Basin is expected to decline by more than 2 percent at mid-century. Texas and the Southwest have been suffering from severe drought conditions. Food prices increase, as less food can grow. Increased drought is also increasing the severity and number of wild fires.

It’s not too late to step off this roller coaster and make a significant impact on future climate change and its effects on our families. When governments, communities, individuals, and businesses work together to curb climate change, we can reduce the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gas pollution released into the atmosphere and lower the risk of severe consequences.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW:

Push for clean energy. Renewable energy, such as wind and solar, and alternate forms of fuel, will reduce the greenhouse gases causing climate change

Advocate for strong regulations. America should be leading the world in cleaning up emissions from power plants. Our children need strong laws to protect their health.